More Than a Desensitizer

Glutaraldehyde-free Hemaseal & Cide® is antimicrobial, improves bond strength, and reduces microleakage

Joseph Pelerin, DDS, has a spot on his deck where he sometimes prays or meditates. It was there that he found himself thinking about the potential for a desensitizer with a glutaraldehyde-free, chlorhexidine-based formula—an idea that first came to him more than a year earlier. "Initially, I had thought that it made so much sense that surely one of the big manufacturers would develop it," Pelerin says. "But, that day, I thought, ‘Just do it.'"

Pelerin, who already sold impression trays and matrix buttons under the brand Advantage Dental Products, Inc., contracted a company to create a prototype, and Hemaseal & Cide^® was born. That was 24 years ago. Since then, Hemaseal & Cide has become Advantage Dental's most popular product because it has proven to offer everything that Pelerin had hoped for and more—literally. In addition to its desensitizing properties, Hemaseal & Cide has established a clinical track record of improving bond strength, reducing microleakage, and demonstrating twice the antimicrobial activity of popular glutaraldehyde desensitizers, all while being economically priced.

In the beginning, Pelerin simply wanted something that was more effective for desensitizing. At an Academy of Operative Dentistry meeting, he listened to a representative from the National Institutes of Health discuss the benefits of using chlorhexidine in periodontal treatment. "He described the mechanism of action of the molecule in a mouth rinse," Pelerin says. "I knew that one of the main reasons for postoperative sensitivity in posterior composite restorations was a micro-void in the bond, and I thought that in eliminating those voids, we could avoid using glutaraldehyde and instead use chlorhexidine, which does not irritate the soft tissue. I am very mechanical, and I was using chlorhexidine as a mechanical building block. As I did some research, I also found that chlorhexidine can lower the surface tension of water, and I thought that this could really be the ultimate liquid to eliminate postoperative sensitivity and provide other benefits without the negative effects of glutaraldehyde. If glutaraldehyde were a new substance being submitted for FDA clearance today, I do not believe that it would be cleared."

Although postoperative sensitivity was only a problem for approximately 3% of Pelerin's patients, he notes that it was significant for that 3%. When he began using Hemaseal & Cide, however, that number went down to 0%. "I thought, ‘Wow, either I am really lucky this month, or this really works," he says. As other dentists began trying the new product, word spread about the results that it could achieve. One year at the Greater New York Dental Meeting, Irwin Smigel, DDS, renowned as the "father of esthetic dentistry," approached Pelerin to shake his hand. "He told me that his patients very rarely experienced postoperative sensitivity, but when they did, it frustrated him," Pelerin says. "However, he told me that he no longer had that problem, thanks to Hemaseal & Cide."

The other benefits of Hemaseal & Cide soon became apparent as well. Several studies have confirmed its antimicrobial abilities. One study found it to be twice as powerful as the leading glutaraldehyde-based product at killing staphylococcus bacteria. Furthermore, it has been found to enhance bond strength and reduce microleakage. Pelerin notes that it is even useful in conjunction with newer self-etch products that eliminate postoperative sensitivity because of these added benefits.

Pelerin believes that the only thing left for him to do is to make more dentists aware that such a strong alternative to glutaraldehyde-based desensitizers exists. "So many key opinion leaders have endorsed Hemaseal & Cide, and so much research has confirmed its efficacy and benefits," he says. "In addition, we have the best pricing. The research is clear: anyone who is doing operative dentistry should be using Hemaseal & Cide. Dentistry is tough enough; we do not need unnecessary obstacles making our lives miserable."

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